What is an EAN number?
EAN (European Article Number) is a 13-digit unique key used to identify your product. It is only necessary to purchase if you manufacture products yourself. Otherwise, a supplier will put this number on their products.
What is the difference between EAN and GTIN?
EAN and GTIN are the same. EAN has later been replaced by GTIN, but EAN is still widely used. Often, EAN and GTIN are used as terms for a barcode and a unique 13-digit number, but they are actually the same thing.
The barcode is just a graphical representation of the number so that handheld scanners and others can scan the product.
This is often used in inventory systems in connection with packing products or during purchasing.
Systems may term this value differently. Some also use "barcode" to define an EAN field.
EAN and SKU
EAN and SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) are two different things. SKU does not need to be registered and is a number series that you can decide for yourself. An SKU can, for example, indicate a product type or its location.
Where can you acquire EAN numbers?
New unique GTINs can be purchased on this website.
Integration to WooCommerce with EAN number
The webshop WooCommerce does not have a dedicated field for EAN numbers. Therefore, Indexed PIM creates (GTIN) in a meta field on the product.